Are you an employer looking to hire lawyers? As in, more than one? Do you know of someone who is?

Stop laughing. I’m serious.

I’ve been writing a lot lately about the terrible legal job market, which just gets worse every time a firm lays off more lawyers. But there are law firms, companies, nonprofits and government agencies out there that are hiring, some of them extensively. I’ve already talked to a few for an upcoming Maryland Lawyer feature on why some employers are going against the conventional wisdom by actively seeking new attorneys.

But I’m still looking for more. So if you know of a Maryland employer who’s hiring, please drop me an e-mail.

From the American Lawyer by way of Texas Lawyer comes this short piece on how firms decide which associates to lay off. It’s worth a read, though there’s nothing earth-shattering. David Bario and Drew Combs write:

So how are associates marked for extinction? Who lives, who dies, and why?

It’s not simply a matter of hours. There is a calculus involved. Some firms really are “realigning,” or making up for lack of traditional associate attrition. Others are tossing deadweight as fast as possible from a sinking ship. But even though a number of agendas are at work, firms usually start at the same place: billables.

…

Still, firm leaders say it’s rare to simply draw a line and fire every single associate who falls below it.

The writers talk to one law firm chairman who tells them that one lawyer may be producing fewer hours than a colleague but doing better work. The competent attorney with low hours may be spared.

That’s a relief, at least. I know I’m hardly the first person to point this out, but isn’t there something wrong with a culture that rewards junior employees for taking a really long time to complete their work?

HT: ABA Journal.

Happy Monday! Here are a few links to start your week:

• John Bratt contrasts the discipline received by a lawyer who deceived her client and a doctor who deceived his patient, asking whether the Maryland Board of Physicians truly protects the public.
• Carolyn Elefant writes about small minority- or women-owned firms partnering with larger firms.
• Bitter Lawyer lists eight ways law firms pad their bills.
• Don’t breathe that sigh of relief. We may not be done with the layoffs just yet, says a blogger who’s been exhaustively chronicling the turmoil in the big-firm market.
• How many law firms do corporate legal departments employ? There’s conflicting data, says law department management expert Rees Morrison.

Womble Carlyle laid off a bunch of people yesterday, but relax: ex-Gov. Bob Ehrlich was not among them.

First of all, the fired employees appear to have been associates and staffers. Second of all, none of the cuts affected Womble’s little 10-professional Baltimore office, a firm spokesman tells me. The spokesman, Russell Thomas, would not confirm how many people in Womble’s other offices were laid off. Third of all, laying off the former governor of Maryland might be considered a teensy bit poor form.

Ehrlich, a few of his former employees from the statehouse, and some of his political allies started Womble’s Baltimore office in 2007 after Ehrlich lost his reelection bid. (Some have speculated, but Womble has denied, that the Womble outpost is a “shadow government” and that Ehrlich and company spend their time planning a rematch with O’Malley.)

So no, Ehrlich won’t be hanging around his house in sweat pants and bunny slippers, eating Bugles and watching daytime TV any time soon. In case you were worried.

UPDATE: WOMBLE RESPONDS

Although blogs have reported that some of those laid off were associates, Thomas said they were all staffers. Some lawyer salaries have been reduced, he said, but the lawyers themselves have not.

Saul Ewing is cutting employees again, but the firm’s Baltimore lawyers seem to have dodged a bullet for the second time.

The Legal Intelligencer in Philadelphia is reporting that the Philly-based firm is cutting seven associates and seven staffers. Six of the lawyers are in Philly and one is in Washington. One of the staffers is in Baltimore.

As we posted back in January, Saul laid off 12 staffers at the beginning of the year. There were some Baltimore staffers in that group, but no lawyers.

As the AmLaw Daily points out, Saul was one of a group of regional firms the AmLaw folks pointed to in February as likely to benefit from bad economic times. The idea was that clients, sick of high rates at national firms, would move to less expensive, well-respected regional firms.

Good morning! Here are a few law links to kick off your week:

* The Sun writes about an alleged “black widow” murder case where the victim was not identified for seven years.

* Law Shucks, via Above the Law, analyzes last week’s law firm layoffs.

* A criminal defendant suffered at trial because of his writings on MySpace and Facebook.

* Anthony Kennedy remains the supreme power on the high court.

* Finally, from The Onion, this modest proposal…

Mandatory reductions in hours? Forced sabbaticals? Laid-off partners? What is the legal world coming to?

From the Am Law people comes a list of the law firms who have laid off the highest percentage of associates since Sept. 30, 2008. San Francisco-based Orrick tops the list, having gotten rid of almost 20 percent of its associates.

Am Law notes that only one of the firms on the list is based in New York. With The Daily Record’s readership in mind, I’ll add the observation that none of these firms has a significant Maryland presence. (The only one that even has a Maryland office is Holland & Knight, whose Bethesda outpost is tiny.) DLA Piper, with its 80 U.S. associate layoffs last month, didn’t make the list.

So, um, Maryland firms are not laying off huge percentages of associates! Yay! How’s that for cold comfort?

CARYN TAMBER, Legal Affairs Writer

Whiteford, Taylor & Preston has cut multiple full-time administrative employees to part-time because the firm wants to be financially “prudent,” managing partner Al Mezzanotte said Wednesday.

He declined to specify how many positions or which ones were downgraded.

“There aren’t that many, and some of the positions just over time have really lessened in terms of dimension and scope and we’re being sensitive to what’s going on in the external environment, as everyone is, and just trying to be prudent about our overhead and our obligations,” he said. Mezzanotte said he’s not expecting future staff changes.

With what I see right now, I don’t envision any reduction in staff or any other change here, but we know dramatic things have happened in our economy…,” he said. “Assuming things continue as they have been going, then I wouldn’t anticipate [more changes].”

Whiteford is far from the only firm making tough decisions about administrative staff. As I blogged about the other day, Ballard Spahr and Saul Ewing both have laid off staff. Stay tuned for further news on this topic, and by all means, drop me a note if you’ve got anything to report.

CARYN TAMBER, Legal Affairs Writer